The Commission’s Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy highlights, above all, the need for a serious research and dialogue on the future of the Information Society Directive. Although the directive had been drafted with the new technology in mind, the developments of the previous decade already show the need for a serious discussion about it. The debate about the issues pointed out in the Green Paper had begun in earnest not only on this side of the Atlantic but on the other, as well as all around the world.

Files in this item: 1

The regulation of the telecommunication industry in Denmark is quite liberal. There are no requirements to register with national authorities when providing telecommunication services or Premium Rate Services. Only Network Operators, who want to make use of the scarce frequency resources, must register with the National IT and Telecom Agency. This liberal approach may be a contributory factor to the fact that there are no official statistics on Premium Rate Services available from public authorities. This article is structured into five parts concerning 1) Premium Rate Services in Denmark, 2) relevant actors, 3) regulation concerning Network Operators, 4) regulation concerning Content Providers, and 5) telecommunication services that are not Premium Rate Services. The proposed structure has been departed to reflect the general division of regulation concerning the Network Operator and the Content Provider, respectively. The areas covered, reflects the regulation that is relevant to those Premium Rate Services provided in Denmark. The emphasis of the article is laid on the regulation safeguarding consumers in the context of Premium Rate Services. This regulation may be grouped into regulation that:
sets requirements for carrying out business as Network Operator or Content Provider, concerns which Premium Rate Service may be provided, and under which number-series or applications codes, imposes certain information requirements, ensures fair and truthful marketing of the Premium Rate Services, or allows the User to monitor his bill, limit his usage, or limits the liability in connection to unauthorised usage.
Infringement of the legislation in question is mainly sanctioned by administrative or civil sanctions. The overall impression is that the Danish telecommunication industry is quite active in securing compliance with the law.

Files in this item: 1

The role of the lawyer is in transition and the formerly predominantly homogeneous profes-sion has become a heterogeneous group of lawyers with diverging perceptions of the lawyer’s identity and of the main characteristics of the profession. The European Union has extended the perception of democracy and the fundamental rights to include more collective rights, social concerns, global responsibility and sustainability.
The dissertation’s main question is: How can the identity and competences of lawyers be developed so that they can practise sustainable and proactive lawyering in the European Union?
Theoretically as well as methodologically this research constitutes an interdisciplinary study, where legal science meets sociology and social learning theories. Identity development is perceived as a reflective project; there is a range of lifestyle choices which contribute to a composed but constantly shifting maintenance of self-identity in relation to democratic principles and the ideal of justice connected to the role of lawyers. The study builds on Anthony Giddens’s structuration theory. This involves looking at how lawyers connect the questions ‘What to do?’ (societal level) and ‘How to act?’ (professional level) with ’Who to be?’ (personal level).
The study depicts a European identity ideal based on legal sources while empirical data from focus groups and individual interviews makes it possible to identify six different identities among Danish practising lawyers. It is possible to recognise the following identities: lawyer-businessman, lawyer-performer, lawyer-entrepreneur, lawyer-humanist, lawyer-integrator and lawyer-statesman.
The fragmentation of the profession, with greater demand for specialist knowledge, in-creased individualisation and participation in new communities of practice, requires each lawyer to reflect on their identity and establish criteria for what, when and how they will use their lawyering skills. For this to succeed, lawyers’ identities and competences will depend more on self-directed learning and individual learning plans, where the legal identity combines (global) societal responsibility with job satisfaction, authenticity and adherence to personal values.

Files in this item: 1

In EU law, nationality and gender were the only equality issues on the legal agenda from the outset in 1958 and for about 40 years. Multiple discrimination was not addressed until the 1990's. The intersectionality approach which has been widely discussed outside Europe has mainly been used with a view to gendermainstreaming the fight against other kinds of discrimination (on grounds of ethnic origin, age, etc).

Files in this item: 1

The prohibition against misleading names in an internal market context

Rørdam, Mette Ohm(Frederiksberg, 2013)

[More information]

[Less information]

Abstract:

This thesis investigates how food naming is regulated in the European Union with the aim to
structure and explain the different rules regulating food naming and the interactions between the
different rules, thereby clarifying de lege lata. Further, the thesis sets out to determine to what
degree the Member States within the EU are free to regulate the naming of imported as well as
domestically produced food, by way of legislation and/or by enforcement of the prohibition against
misleading names. The interaction between the prohibition against misleading names and the
obligation to mutually recognise names which have been legally used in other Member States are
central in this thesis.
The first part of the thesis introduces the thesis subject and provides an explanation to the
approaches taken. The empirical data used for identifying practical real-life cases concerning
potentially misleading names is presented.
The second part of the thesis elaborates on the various EU rules in secondary law, their scope and
objectives, including an examination of the rationales behind the rules based on application of
economic theory. The borderlines between the rules are clarified.
Part three of the thesis contains legal dogmatic analyses and discussions of the different EU rules
regulating food naming. The analyses of the rules are based on practical real-life cases in which food
naming has shown to be a challenging task. The difficulties addressed relate to: precision of names
(the task of finding a name precise enough to provide adequate information to consumers without
narrowing the product’s competitive field); product identity (difficulties in naming products that
refer to specific ingredients and in which traditional ingredients have been replaced); the use of
geographical names (which potentially mislead consumers) and language difficulties. In the last
chapter of part three an analysis is provided of the concept of fairness and general prohibition against misleading consumers in order to clarify the criteria for applying these in real-life cases.
Despite the existence of rather detailed rules on naming and labelling of food, which provides clarity
in relation to food naming, the application of these rules is dependent on consumers’ expectation
and potentially deception which must be assessed on a case-by-case basis, whereby the
predictability of the rules is weakened.
Part four of the thesis focuses on the borderlines between primary and secondary EU law and on
answering the second part of the research question. Primary EU law defines the fundamental
borderlines for EU law on food names and limits how food legislation can and must be applied. First
part of this analysis focuses on the naming of imported food products, while the second part focuses
on the naming of domestically produced food. The relevant sources of law are analysed and
discussions are provided. It is concluded that the principle of mutual recognition takes precedence
over the prohibition against misleading names, which prevents Member States from regulating the
naming of imported food, by way of legislation and by enforcement of the prohibition against
misleading names. Secondary EU law also limits how Member States can regulate the naming of
domestically produced food.
Part five provides the conclusion to the research question.

Files in this item: 1

On May 1 2004, 10 additional countries joined the European Union. Out of fears that the "old” member states would be swamped by cheap labour from the new member states, many of the old members chose to impose transitional rules on the mobility of labour from the new to the old member states.
This report provides an analysis of the transitional rules put in place by the Danish government. What are the rules that apply to workers from the new member states compared to those that apply to workers from the old member states? How are these rules administered? And what are the social rights of workers from the new member states, e.g., in the form of access to social benefits? These are some of the questions addressed in this report. (Report in Danish).

The
European
Commission
recently
proposed
a
General
Data
Protection
Regulation,1
which
is
meant
to
replace
the
EU
Data
Protection
Directive2
and
to
thoroughly
reform
and
modernize
the
EU
privacy
regulatory
framework.
The
Regulation,
if
adopted,
would
introduce
a
number
of
changes,
several
of
which
would
considerably
alter
the
current
privacy
setting.3
First,
the
current
Directive
would
be
replaced
with
a
Regulation,
achieving
EU-­‐wide
harmonization.
Second,
the
scope
of
the
instrument
would
be
widened
and
the
provisions
made
more
precise.
Third,
the
use
of
consent
for
data
processing
would
be
limited.
Fourth,
Data
protection
“by
design”
would
be
distinguished
from
data
protection
“by
default”.
Fifth,
new
fundamental
rights
would
be
introduced
and
the
old
ones
clarified.
Sixth,
new
rules
on
controllers’
and
processors’
duties,
on
supervisory
authorities
and
on
sanctions
would
be
introduced.
Finally,
the
Commission
would
obtain
significant
new
powers
to
adopt
delegated
acts.
This
appendix
explores
the
impact
that
the
proposed
Regulation
might
have
on
interoperability
of
user-­‐generated
services.4
Since
the
proposed
Regulation
is
an instrument
of
high
complexity,
only
those
provisions
of
direct
relevance
for
the
project
and
Work
Package
5
will
be
analysed
here.

Files in this item: 1

A Legal and Theoretical Exploration of How to Regulate Unoriginal Database Contents and Possible Suggestions for Reform

Herr, Robin Elizabeth(København, 2008)

[More information]

[Less information]

Abstract:

Controversial from its inception, the European Database Directive protects unoriginal contents in contrast to the United States where there is no statutory protection. Despite this extra incentive, empirical evidence seems to indicate that database production in the European Community remains largely unchanged while that in the United States is increasing, at least in the short term.
Dissatisfaction with the Directive has sparked efforts to revise database protection policy, including by the European Commission. In order to determine the best method of regulation, three factors are explored in this Ph.D. thesis: the nature of the database industry, regulatory theories emanating from economic analysis of the law and the evidence offered by the US and EC protection regimes.
A major insight that emerges is that the productive potential of secondary producers, what the author terms re-users, is being undervalued in Europe. A greater emphasis on access could harness their economic potential. However, this conclusion comes with a twist based upon the American experience. A reduction in statutory protection could result in a switch to production models that emphasize access. But it could also result in models that reduce access even more than at present. In order to ensure a productive future, rigorous monitoring and regulatory adjustment is in order.

Files in this item: 1

The focus of this thesis is an analysis of the legal aspects and use of surveys in trademark and
marketing practice litigation in Norway. I examine the legal relevance of surveys and analyse
how they are considered as evidence by the courts and administrative bodies.
Human behaviour can be defined within a legal context by interpreting legal sources and
also by developing a survey based on the market place. In this thesis, I compare the use of
survey findings as evidence of human perceptions in the context of the average consumer who
represents the opinion of the relevant group. If the factual public opinion of the respective
group of addressees is taken into consideration, the rules are interpreted with a basis in the
market place (reality), and not within a formal legal framework (abstraction)...

Files in this item: 2

This paper concerns Public Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in concern to the coming new 2014/24IEU public procurement directive. The new EU public procurement directive gives the public authority the opportunity to negotiate PPPs much more when they are implemented in national law. An opportunity the member states should consider using when procuring a PPP. This paper looks at the negotiation and contracting of a PPP in an economic theoretical and EU public procurement perspective and discusses how to establish an efficient PPP contract under a strong public law doctrine. Governments should consider tendering out PPP projects in the spirit of joint utility because joint utility can increase the concept of more value for money; the
cornerstone of the PPP concept. This paper discusses the positive gains from negotiation and compares it with the upcoming possibilities in the EU public procurement law. Furthermore, the paper seeks to establish a connection between public law, private law and the efficient PPP contract by drawing upon economic theory and empirical contract data from UK, US and Danish partnering contracts from the construction industry and the aim of contracting joint utility. Joint utility can increase the concept of more value for money; the cornerstone of the PPP concept. The paper draws upon existing legal
content regarding collaboration and common goals and game theory to explain the benefits from implementing similar clauses in PPP contracts.

The project described in this report was carried out with support from The Ministry of Justice’s Research Pool. The aim of the project is to examine the effects of Amending Act no. 213/2002, amending the rules on consumer sales in the Danish Sale of Goods Act. The amendments were part of Denmark’s implementation of Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees. The Amending Act came into force on 24 April 2002, having effect on consumer sales made on and after 1 January 2002. At the time of completion of this report, the Amending Act had been in force for more than two and a half years. In the planning of this project, we assumed that at this point in time sufficient experience with the new rules would be available, enabling us to get an impression of its practical consequences for businesses. Also, we assumed that the respondents could still recall the prior state of the law, making it possible for us to gather sufficient information to compare the situation before and after the Amending Act entered into force.
The Amending Act involved a number of amendments to the Danish Sale of Goods Act. Certain amendments, such as those concerning the rules on lack of conformity, were mainly clarifications of the current state of the law. As these in fact did not change the state of the law, they were not intended to change practice either. As this study is empirically oriented, these amendments fall outside its scope. Consequently, in this study we have chosen to focus on the consequences of the following amendments:
Under the new provisions in s. 77a(3), any lack of conformity with the contract is assumed to have existed at the time of delivery if such lack of conformity becomes apparent within six months of the time of delivery.
Where there is a lack of conformity, the consumer in general has a right to choose between replacement and repair under s. 78. Replacement is no longer contingent on the lack of conformity constituting a fundamental breach. Furthermore, it is no longer possible for the seller to decline a request for replacement by offering to repair. If the consumer’s request for replacement or repair would impose disproportionate costs on the seller, or if this remedy is impossible, the seller can, however, decline the request.
In s. 83, the limitation period for complaints has been extended from one to two years from the time of delivery to the consumer. In s. 54, the corresponding limitation period on other sales than consumer sales has been extended from one to two years to avoid sellers in the retail trade from being caught in between their consumers and their suppliers. As before, s. 83 cannot be derogated from to the detriment of the consumer. It is, however, still possible for the parties to derogate from s. 54 concerning other sales than consumer sales.
The fundamental question of this study is whether the mentioned alteration to the state of the law has resulted in a notable change in the behaviour of the relevant players. Of the relevant players, our principal focus is the retail trade, whose situation we have examined by way of a questionnaire survey. To a limited extent we have also looked into any changes in the behaviour of wholesalers/producers, mainly by way of interviews with trade organisations. Finally, we have examined the application of the new rules, mainly by looking at the Danish Consumer Complaints Board.

Files in this item: 1

This paper discusses partnering contracts in Denmark and Great Britain, analyses
the legal content and applies game theory and the prisoner’s dilemma game on
some of the legal clauses and objectives. The paper defines partnering contracts as
alternative social contracts relevant when forming a strategic alliance or another
long-term relationship with a certain degree of specificity and frequency. It is not
the aim of partnering contracts to replace the traditional contracts. The paper
focuses on partnering in the construction industry and compares the clauses in
both Danish and British partnering contracts. Based on the analysis, the paper sets
up a scientific definition regarding the aim of partnering contracts and shows that
economic theory can explain the legal clauses in the partnering contract, and the
partnering contract can solve inefficiency in the Nash Equilibrium in the
prisoner’s dilemma game. The partnering contract makes it possible to obtain the
benefit from joint utility and the paper proposes some legal improvements in this
regard.

Files in this item: 1

The digital world of the 21st century is increasingly the world of automatic
decision making. In such a world, an ever larger number of tasks are relegated
to computers which gather and process data as well as suggest or make
decisions silently and with little supervision. This situation has been made
possible by a transfer of a staggering portion of our daily lives from the offline
world to the Internet. It is a truism that automation would be impossible
without our willing participation on the Internet. We freely take part in social
networks, post on blogs, and send our emails. On the other hand, it is equally
true that we are increasingly monitored by the state, by profit‐maximizing
corporations and by our fellow citizens and that these methods of monitoring
are becoming smarter. Vast amounts of data which have become available
and which we contribute, form what we today call “big data”.1 This is then
harvested for connections and correlations and profiles created that can be
used for commercial and other purposes. We fear this world but are also
dependant on it. The creation of these profiles and their usage is an uncharted
territory for the social sciences as much as it is a strange territory for the
regulators.